Father's Day
by trashboat2k16
Summary: Bloo is starting to lose his mind over how late Mac is. So, he decides to do a little investigating and see why Mac has neglected him. However, the real answer is nothing Bloo could have ever imagined, and reopens doors that should have stayed closed...


Bloo was mad. Beyond mad. What was the word… he was _furious_.

Bloo couldn't believe how late Mac was. Normally, Mac arrived no later than 3:00, right after school let out. But today, Mac was nowhere to be found. He had tried asking Mr. Herriman, but it was clear that he was being just as _useless_ as ever. "Unfortunately, Master Blooregard, I haven't the slightest idea where Master Mac could be. All I know is that Master Mac called me this morning and explained that he would arrive late today, but did not explain as to why. But since he was responsible enough to tell me beforehand, I allowed for today to be an exception of our deal."

Bloo had asked nearly every friend in the whole house, and yet none of them knew. It was starting to drive him crazy. Since his creation, Mac and Bloo were always together. _Always_. Bloo couldn't remember a time when they were apart for longer than a day. So, you could imagine how confused and upset he was. He was pacing in front of the door when Wilt walked up to him.

"I'm sorry, but Bloo… haven't you been here _all day_? Why don't you go and wait for Mac somewhere else, maybe play a game, or something?" Bloo looked up at him and glared. "GO SOMEWHERE ELSE? If I do that, Mac will think it's okay if he shows up late every day, and it's NOT. When he walks in that door, I'm giving him a piece of my mind." Lucky for them, Bloo didn't have to wait much longer, because right then there was a knock at the door. Wilt was about to open it, when Bloo stopped him.

"Wait…" Bloo whispered. "Why don't we let Frankie open the door, and then see what he says to her! Since he obviously doesn't want _me_ to know, let's see how he explains it to Frankie!" Wit looked concerned. "But… that would be eavesdropping. That's not right, Bloo. Why don't we just as- "

Bloo grabbed his hand and dragged him up the stairs before he could finish. He pushed Wilt behind the wall and clutched onto the bannister, so that he could see the room without getting caught. He cleared his throat and shouted, "FRAAANNNKIIEEE! SOMEONE'S AT THE DOOOORRRR!" and then ducked back next to Wilt.

A loud groan was heard from the other room, and the redhead tiredly walked open to the door and opened it. Behind it was an exhausted-looking Mac, and Frankie instantly dropped the attitude.

"Mac! What took you so long? Is everything okay?" Frankie asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm alright." Mac sighed. "I just came to talk to Bloo really quick, but I guess he's not here." Mac took a quick glance around the room, waiting for Bloo to appear out of nowhere and tackle him, and seemed disappointed when he didn't. Bloo felt that all-too-familiar tug at his heartstrings, and he could feel that god-forsaken instinct to run down there and give him a hug, but he choked down the sympathy and continued to listen.

"I could call him here, if you want to talk to him."

Mac shook his head. "No, no. It's fine. I was… just going to tell him why I was late, that's all."

Frankie smiled. "Well, if you're in that big of a rush, I can take a message. What is it that you wanted to tell him?"

Bloo growled quietly. Why didn't Mac want to see him? Why didn't Mac run out and look for him? Didn't he care? Why didn't he put himself in Bloo's perspective? So many accusing thoughts rattled inside his head that it was visible from the outside, and Wilt noticed the crazed look in his eyes. "Maybe there was a personal issue or something, Bloo. Maybe he was too nervous to tell you." Bloo whipped around, and Wilt gulped.

" _Too nervous_? How could he be _too nervous_ when he just ran over and told Frankie? A girl over his best friend! Ooh, that kid," Bloo hissed in the loudest possible whisper, and raised his fist in the air. "When I get my hands on him, I'll…"

"It's just… well… it's Father's Day, and I want to go and talk to my dad before it gets too late… just… just tell him that I went to go see my dad, he'll understand."

So many feelings crashed into Bloo at that one moment that he could have sworn he had gotten shot.

"Oh, no problem! Say 'hi' to your dad for me!" Frankie said with a smile.

"Yeah… I will. Bye, Frankie." Mac replied curtly, and then left.

"Aww, isn't that nice," Wilt gushed. "See, Bloo? Nothing bad at all! He just wanted to go and see his dad! Nothing to worry about- "

Wilt's voice trailed off when he faced Bloo. Bloo's fist was still suspended in the air, shuddering violently. In fact, his entire body was trembling. His unblinking eyes were cloudy and fixed on the door, and they were raw with pain and emotion. His other hand clung tightly to the railing, as if to anchor himself, and his other hand dropped numbly to his side. Bloo felt like his insides were tearing each other apart. _Father's Day_. The one day he swore that he'd never forget, the one day that was permanently fixed in his mind for the rest of his life. His head drifted down to face the floor, eyes unmoving.

"Uh, Bloo? Are you okay?" Wilt's voiced snapped Bloo out of his thoughts, and Bloo could hear the worry in his voice.

"H… h… he…. he…" Bloo couldn't even form the sentence. He could feel his vision blur, and his eyes fill.

"Bloo, what's wrong?"

Bloo didn't answer.

"You're crying, Bloo."

Bloo _was_ crying, a rare enough experience on its own. He felt his hand slip off of the railing, and he crashed onto the floor in a heap of misery. At that moment, Frankie walked up the stairs.

"Oh, Bloo! You just missed Mac, he said he was going to- "

Bloo didn't want to hear any more. He shot up from the floor and ran to his room, almost crashing into Frankie in the process.

He slammed his door with a loud _BANG_ and slumped onto the ground, sobbing violently. He didn't care what was going on around him, he didn't care about what Wilt felt. That's when he could feel his mind pulling him all the way back to that very day, three years ago.

Mac was only five, and Bloo was only two. Mac's mother and father were very kind people, and Mac's father considered Bloo to be another child of his. Terrence was ten, and was a whole lot nicer to Mac than he was today. He was always willing to stand up for both boys, and life was great. That was before the accident.

It was Father's Day, and it was a special one, too. Terrence had a baseball game, so the celebration would only be between Mac's father, Mac, and Bloo.

"I can trust you boys to stay safe while I'm at Terrence's game, right?" Mac's mother had said in the early morning. His father grinned. 'Don't worry darling, we'll be fine." He paused to ruffle Terrence' hair, then said, "Besides, you both need a ladies' day out once and a while, right?" Terrence shoved him good naturedly, and Mac and Bloo laughed so hard they nearly threw up their breakfast.

"Oh, stop it," Mac's mother laughed and smeared some pancake batter on his shirt.

The rest of the day was just as fun. The three of them went bowling, saw a movie, and played in the park together. They also ate a lot. There was pizza, popcorn, candy… a child's dream that would soon be twisted into a nightmare.

As they were walking to the baseball field, Mac's father clutched his chest. He let out a scream of pain that made Bloo's blood run cold. The two boys whipped around and saw him flailing on the ground yelling and screaming and pleading for an ambulance.

Bloo didn't remember much after that, only that it was practically in slow-motion. They had shrieked and cried for help, asking people that were passing by to call the emergency number, to save their father. After the screaming had stopped, he remembered Mac's father pulling them both close.

"Tell Mom and Terrence that I love them, okay pals?" he rasped, trying to soothe the crying children. "And I love you guys too, you're the best sons a man could ever hope to have…" His body shuddered once, and then was still. Bloo could remember the sirens in the background, Mac's painful cries, the tears running down his face… and he remembered that the man had died before the paramedics arrived, due to cardiac arrest.

Bloo awoke from his fantasy face down on the rug, crying hysterically. He was writhing weakly on the ground, his voice hoarse, and his eyes squeezed shut.

That memory had haunted him his whole life. How could he have forgotten it now? On this very day? Bloo winced in self-loathing, drowning his senses in misery. Only then did he remember Mac.

Bloo felt his body stiffen. _Mac_. How could he have been so insensitive? How could he not have put himself in Mac's shoes? He was Mac's father, his _real_ father. Mac had loved him even more than Bloo had, how could Bloo act so upset?

Bloo recalled Mac's apology just a few minutes before. " _I want to go and talk to my dad before it gets too late_ …" He must be at the cemetery. He quietly stood up and walked over to the door, trying to stop himself from shaking. One quick look outside and it was clear that it would rain, so Bloo grabbed an umbrella and started walking towards the cemetery.

The cemetery wasn't as far away as he had remembered. Before long, he was outside the steel gates. He pressed his face against the bars, looking for Mac. He noticed his dark green backpack on the ground, and saw Mac sitting before a small stone. He could hear Mac mumbling to himself.

"I hope you're proud of me," Mac said slowly. "I've made all sorts of new friends at Foster's. They're all so nice to me… I didn't think there were people like that left in the world." Bloo could hear the smile in his voice.

"I hope you're not mad that I still come to see Bloo," Mac continued. Bloo took in a sharp breath. "But he's still my best friend, I could never leave him there all by himself. I wouldn't be able to stand it if some other kid took him… he's done so much for me…"

Bloo forced himself not to cry, but it was definitely not an easy feat. He could feel some drops of rain falling down from the sky, so he quietly opened the gate and walked over to Mac. He paused right behind him, and opened up the umbrella.

Mac jumped when he heard the umbrella open, and was shocked to find Bloo standing behind him. "B-Bloo? What are you doing here?"

Bloo put his hand on Mac's shoulder. "I… heard what Frankie said about you coming to see your dad, and I knew exactly where you were."

Mac smiled weakly. "I knew you'd figure it out." He mumbled, and then turned back to his father's grave. "So," he continued, "This is it. I come here sometimes, before I arrive at Foster's," Mac explained. "I… talk to him."

Bloo sat down next to Mac. "You know," he said, "I've never been here before." Bloo turned away, ashamed. "I never came after the… accident, so I've never… spoken to him before."

Mac pulled Bloo closer. "Well, you're here now. Say something, wish him a happy Father's Day."

Bloo sighed. "Okay," he said, "Here goes nothing…"

"Hey… uh, Mr. Mac's dad. I… I hope everything is going okay for you… in heaven. I'm sorry that I never came… to see you, but… I… uh, I've been busy… and…" Bloo struggled to find the right words. Mac put his hand on his back encouragingly.

"I… miss you, a lot. I promised that I'd never forget, but… well, I didn't _forget_ … I just didn't want… I didn't want to accept that you were dead. After you did… die… I tried to force myself to believe that it didn't happen, like if you were on a business trip again. I thought that if I came here, then that would mean that I accepted that you were dead… so I tried not to think about it. But, of course, that didn't work very well."

Bloo breath was funny for a minute. He would not cry. Not in front of Mac.

"So, that's my story… and if you really are watching us right now, I hope you saw all the crazy stuff we did." He grinned. "I think you'd like it."

Mac smiled. "That was actually… kinda sweet."

Bloo scoffed. "Yeah, I guess everyone has to be a sappypants once in their life, right?" Bloo didn't know what to say after that, so he began reading the gravestone.

 _Here lies Brian Malchiodi… Beloved husband to Myra Malchiodi; and beloved son to Mac, Terrence_.

Bloo squinted. The writing seemed… off.

Mac noticed Bloo's confused stare. "What's the matter?"

Bloo shook his head. "I don't think the gravestone is written right. Wouldn't it say Mac AND Terrence, instead of just a comma?"

Mac inspected the stone. Bloo was right; it did seem a bit odd.

"I don't know. Maybe it was a mistake?"

Bloo shrugged. "Maybe." Then, he noticed a small bush planted in front of the grave. After a quick glance around the cemetery, he saw that all of the gravestones had at least one bush surrounding it. After inspecting the bush, he noticed dark markings behind it. _Letters._ The gravestone had more writing on it!

He shoved Mac and pointed to the stone. "Mac, look, the bush has another inscription behind it!" Mac stared at the bush and, sure enough, there was writing hiding behind the leaves of the bush. Together, Bloo and Mac pushed it out of the way to read it.

Mac gasped. Bloo's jaw dropped.

The complete inscription said:

 _Here lies Brian Malchiodi… Beloved husband to Myra Malchiodi; and beloved son to Mac, Terrence_ …

 _…and Bloo._

Bloo could have fainted right there and then. Every single emotion in the world was running through him at the same time. He didn't know what to think. Mac's father- _his_ father, had loved him enough to consider him as his son, and it was well-known enough that it was placed on his grave.

Several minutes of stunned silence suffocated Mac and Bloo, until Mac said, "I think we've had enough surprises for one day." He helped Bloo to his feet, who nearly collapsed again.

"Yeah, I think we better go." Bloo whispered. He patted his father's grave, and then put his arm around Mac, holding the umbrella above their heads.

"I think Frankie's making lasagna tonight!" he said, nudging Mac with his elbow. Mac grinned. "Yeah," Mac said. "I haven't eaten in hours."

Together, the boy and his imaginary friend made their way back to Foster's, feeling more connected then they had ever felt before.


End file.
